A copper bull from the Sumerian site of Al-Ubaid, in modern-day southern Iraq.
The Copper Bull is a copper sculpture found at the site of Tell al-'Ubaid near the ancient city of Ur, now in southern Iraq, by Sir Leonard Woolley in 1923. The sculpture, which dates from about 2600 BCE, is now in the British Museum. "The sculpture had been made by first making a wooden model of a bull. This had then been coated with bitumen. The parts of the bull were made in sections.The legs were shaped out of wood covered in copper plate and held in place using tacks. The legs were attached and then more copper sheet covered the main body, with a different sheet for the bull's shoulders. These sheets were held in place by flat-headed nails along the back of the legs, the haunches and the stomach. The body's sheets overlapped the places where the legs had been attached.Copper bolts attached the legs to the base and the head was attached with a wooden dowel. The horns and the ears were then attached to the head."(Maude de Schauensee, Two Lyres from Ur, 2002, p.37-42,) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_BullNote the S-curved horns of the bull. This finds expression on many sculptures
of Ancient Near East. See, for e.g. decorated Ishtar Gate.
An aurochs above a flower ribbon.
I suggest that this shape of the horn was adopted for the 'unicorn'
one-horned young bull signified on thousands of Indus Script inscriptions.
It ain't NO unicorn, but a young bull.
See:
कोंद kōnda 'young bull' rebus kō̃da कोँद a kiln (a potter's, a lime-kiln, and brick-kiln, or the like); a ceramic furnace https://tinyurl.com/yydlmsq2![]()
Detail of the Mari Ishtar temple victory parade: thestand topped by the image of unicorn wild bull (excavationno. M-458), height 7cm. (After Parrot 1935: 134, fig. 15).![]()
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Impressions of two seals of the Proto-Elamite culture (c. 3200-2600 BCE). (After Amiet 1980: nos. 514 and 515).
The Meluhh word which signifies the young bull: m A young bull, a bullcalf;
कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa f A fold or pen. (Marathi)
· कोंद kōnda 'young bull' rebus: कोंद kōnda 'engraver, turner' kundana 'fine gold' PLUS kōḍu'horn' rebus koḍ 'workplace' PLUS koḍiyum 'ring on neck' rebus: koḍ 'workplace' PLUS khōṇḍī खोंडी 'pannier sack' rebus: कोंद kōnda 'engraver, turner, fine gold'. Thus, the hypertext composition signifies workshop of a goldsmith, lapidary (turner, engraver). A remarkable cognate etymon signifying a young bull is seen in Telugu (Indian sprahbund, 'speech union'): kōḍe. [Tel.] n. A bullcalf. కోడెదూడ. A young bull. కాడిమరపదగినదూడ. Plumpness, prime. తరుణము. జోడుకోడయలు a pair of bullocks. కోడె adj. Young. కోడెత్రాచు a young snake, one in its prime. "కోడెనాగముంబలుగులరేడుతన్నికొని పోవుతెరంగు" రామా. vi. కోడెకాడు kōḍe-kāḍu. n. A young man. పడుచువాడు. A lover విటుడు. Rebus: kõdār 'turner' (Bengali). konda 'furnace, fire-altar' kō̃da कोँद'furnace for smelting': payĕn-kō̃da पयन्-कोँद।परिपाककन्दुः f. a kiln (a potter's, a lime-kiln, and brick-kiln, or the like); a furnace (for smelting). -thöji - or -thöjü -; ।परिपाक-(द्रावण-)मूषाf. a crucible, a melting-pot. -ʦañĕ -।परिपाकोपयोगिशान्ताङ्गारसमूहः f.pl. a special kind of charcoal (made from deodar and similar wood) used in smelting furnaces. -wôlu -वोलु&below; ।धात्वादिद्रावण-इष्टिकादिपरिपाकशिल्पी m. a metal-smelter; a brick-baker. -wān -वान्।द्रावणचुल्ली m. a smelting furnace.
On Indus Script hypertexts, three forms of bulls are signified:
1. Bos primigenius (unicorns as young bulls with one horn): khōṇḍa m A young bull, a bullcalf. rebus: kunda, 'one of कुबेर's nine treasures', kundaṇa 'fine gold'2. Bos primigenius Indicus (zebu): पोळ [pōḷa], 'zebu, dewlap' rebus: पोळ [pōḷa], 'magnetite, ferrite ore'' 3. Bos primigenius taurus (old bull or ox): ḍhangra 'bull'. Rebus: ḍhangar 'blacksmith'. barad, balad, 'ox' rebus: bharata 'metal alloy' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin
One-horned young bull is NOT a mythical species said to be 'unicorn' but in the genre of Indian aurochs (Bos primigenius).
On Indus Script hypertexts, three forms of bulls are signified:
1. Bos primigenius (unicorns as young bulls with one horn): khōṇḍa m A young bull, a bullcalf. rebus: kunda, 'one of कुबेर's nine treasures', kundaṇa 'fine gold'
2. Bos primigenius Indicus (zebu): पोळ [pōḷa], 'zebu, dewlap' rebus: पोळ [pōḷa], 'magnetite, ferrite ore''
3. Bos primigenius taurus (old bull or ox): ḍhangra 'bull'. Rebus: ḍhangar
'blacksmith'. barad, balad, 'ox' rebus: bharata 'metal alloy' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin
One-horned young bull is NOT a mythical species said to be 'unicorn' but in the genre of Indian aurochs (Bos primigenius).
History of Metals
Background Material
The ancient terms for the metals are discussed by Armas Salonen"Alte Substrata- und Kulturwoerter im Arabischen",
Studia Orientalia, Vol. XVII, Helsinki, 1952).
Below, to Salonen's lists of the ancient terms for the metals in the Fertile Crescent, LexiLine has added the Baltic comparables
based on P. Schmidt's observation that:
"The ancient indigenous Baltic word for copper(Latvian vars, Lithuanian varias, Old Prussian wargien)
indicates that it was inherited from some ancient period, since it is not borrowed either from the
Slavic or Germanic peoples...."
The word vars was not "inherited" at all, but is indigenous to Baltic viz. Indo-European peoples
as one can see from the terms for "copper" below.
Studia Orientalia, Vol. XVII, Helsinki, 1952).
Below, to Salonen's lists of the ancient terms for the metals in the Fertile Crescent, LexiLine has added the Baltic comparables
based on P. Schmidt's observation that:
"The ancient indigenous Baltic word for copper(Latvian vars, Lithuanian varias, Old Prussian wargien)
indicates that it was inherited from some ancient period, since it is not borrowed either from the
Slavic or Germanic peoples...."
The word vars was not "inherited" at all, but is indigenous to Baltic viz. Indo-European peoples
as one can see from the terms for "copper" below.
Copper
Sumerian KAxUD.BAR (or) UDxKA.BAR (or) SI.BAR
Latvian varš (pronounced "varsh"), dim. VARiņš
Lithuanian varis viz. varias
Old Prussian wargien
Latvian svars "weight" < *sa-VARS
Akkadian SIPARRU Hebrew SEPER
Arabic SIFRun
Latin KUPRUM
but here with a different word root
Sumerian URUDU ? ("copper, copper colored?)
Latvian RUDU- "copper colored"
Latvian RUDVARIS (var. RUDU VARA )
Latvian varš (pronounced "varsh"), dim. VARiņš
Lithuanian varis viz. varias
Old Prussian wargien
Latvian svars "weight" < *sa-VARS
Akkadian SIPARRU Hebrew SEPER
Arabic SIFRun
Latin KUPRUM
but here with a different word root
Sumerian URUDU ? ("copper, copper colored?)
Latvian RUDU- "copper colored"
Latvian RUDVARIS (var. RUDU VARA )
When we examine all of these ancient terms for metals,
we see that TWO basic roots are
we see that TWO basic roots are
BAR-VAR-PAR
Metals as products of smelting processes by fire
There is a first basic root of the form "BAR, VAR, PAR" and of course this is also the root of FERRO- "iron" in Latin,
which currently has a false etymology. The correct origin will be as in Indo-European e.g. Latvian VĀR- "to smelt, boil"...
There is a first basic root of the form "BAR, VAR, PAR" and of course this is also the root of FERRO- "iron" in Latin,
which currently has a false etymology. The correct origin will be as in Indo-European e.g. Latvian VĀR- "to smelt, boil"...
Similarly, we see that origin of the English word BRONZEtraced back thus far only to Italian bronzo, has roots which go
back much further in BAR, perhaps in a form such as Latvian *BARiņš viz. VARiņš > BRONZE.
back much further in BAR, perhaps in a form such as Latvian *BARiņš viz. VARiņš > BRONZE.
zabar [BRONZE] (810x: ED IIIb, Old Akkadian, Lagash II, Ur III, Early Old Babylonian, Old Babylonian, unknown) wr. zabar; zabar3 "(to be) bright, pure; arrowhead; weapon; metal mirror; (to be) shiny; measuring vessel made of bronze; a metal bowl; bronze" Akk. ebbu; hutpu; kakku; mušālu; namru; qû; sappu; siparru
| Â Form | Â Base | Â Morph |  Â Freq |
|---|---|---|---|
| zabar | zabar | ~ | 681 |
| zabar-ta | zabar | ~,ta | 69 |
| zabar3 | zabar3 | ~ | 19 |
| zabar-ra | zabar | ~,ak | 14 |
| zabar-Å¡e3 | zabar | ~,ece | 6 |
| zabar-bi | zabar | ~,bi | 6 |
| zabar-e | zabar | ~,e | 5 |
| zabar-kam | zabar | ~,ak.am | 2 |
| zabar-re | zabar | ~,e | 1 |
| zabar-a-bi | zabar | ~,ak.bi | 1 |
| zabar-zabar | RR#zabar-zabar | ~ | 1 |
| zabar-gin7 | zabar | ~,gin | 1 |
| zabar-ba | zabar | ~,bi.a | 1 |
| zabar-me | zabar | ~,meš | 1 |
| zabar-ka | zabar | ~,ak.a | 1 |
| zabar-da | zabar | ~,da | 1 |
~ LEX/Old Babylonian/Nippur zabar OB Nippur Ura 2 534; [[zabar]] = = U4.KA.BAR = si2-pa-ar-ru OB Diri Nippur 321; [[zabar]] = = = ka-ak-kum OB Diri Nippur 322; [[zabar]] = = =qu3-um OB Diri Nippur 323. LEX/unknown/unknown gu2-un zabar# CBS 01862 r ii 23'. ELA/ED IIIb/Girsu [1(aš@c)] zabar3 dili2 ma2-dilmun VS 14, 013 o ii 2; 1(aš@c) sa zabar3kuš gu4 sumun VS 25, 075 r ii 8; 2(u@c) 5(aš@c) ha-zi zabar3 VS 27, 091 o i 1; 2(u@c) 5(aš@c) a2-gam NIG2 zabar3 VS 27, 091 o i 2; 1(aš@c) ma-na nagga zabar3 Nik 1, 310 r iv 4; 5(aš@c) zabar3 ku3 luh-ha RA 06, p. 139, Enz. 1 r i 2. ELA/ED IIIb/Nippur sila3 zabar-ta OSP 1, 064 o i 2. ELA/ED IIIb/unknown 3(u@c) la2 2(aš@c) 1/2(aš@c)! ma-na an-nazabar ASJ 19, 054 o iii 2; 3(u@c) la2 2(aš@c) 1/2(aš@c) ma-na an-na zabar ASJ 19, 054 r ii 2. ELA/Old Akkadian/Adab 1(aš@c) gin2 ku3-babbar zabar Adab 0815 8. ELA/Old Akkadian/Girsu 1/2(aš@c) ma-na urudu zabar CT 50, 179 2; [1(diš)] 6(aš@c) ma-na la2 5(aš@c) gin2 urudu# zabar ITT 1, 01070 3; 2(aš@c) 1/3(aš@c)ša ma#-[na] 4(aš@c) gin2zabar ITT 2, 04438 1. ELA/Old Akkadian/Lagash 1(aš@c) ma-na nagga zabar BM 025184 2. ELA/Old Akkadian/Nippur 1(u@c) 1(aš@c) zabar urudu TMH 5, 147 4; 1(aš@c) ha-zizabar urudu OSP 2, 044 o i 3; [1(diš)] zabar še-u3-suh5-[urudu] OSP 2, 045 o i 7; 1(aš@c) zabar še-u3-suh5 urudu OSP 2, 048 o i 10; 6(diš) zabar urudu OSP 2, 048 o i 9;[1(diš)] zabar nim urudu OSP 2, 049 o i 10; [...] zabar? OSP 2, 065 1. ELA/Old Akkadian/Umma 2(u) zabar ku3-babbar CT 50, 052 2; 1(aš@c) urudu a-LAK171-dilim2 zabar CT 50, 052 4; 4(u) urudu zabar-zabar CT 50, 052 5. ELA/Old Akkadian/Ur 3(aš@c) zabar UET 2 supp 01 o i 2. ELA/Old Akkadian/unknown [2(diš)] urudu zabar MAD 4, 064 2; 2(aš@c)urudu zabar MAD 4, 069 2. ELA/Ur III/Drehem 1(diš) ma-sa2-ab zabar uruda ki-maški ur2 dnin-kas4 HU uruda ku3-babbar AUCT 1, 078 1; 5(diš) gin2 sa10 zabar AUCT 1, 237 2;1(diš) ma-la2 zabar AUCT 1, 296 5. ELA/Ur III/Girsu 7(aš) 2(barig) še gur lugal gur zabar#-[ta] ASJ 03, 157 120 1; 1(aš) še gur lugal gur zabar-ta ASJ 03, 162 131 1; 1(aš) še gurzabar-ta ASJ 03, 162 131 1. ELA/Ur III/Nippur x nig2 šu udu gan zabar 1(diš) tug2 a-ga2 x 1(diš) dug ru-[...] BE 03/1, 076 1; 1(diš) gi pisan gal zabar BE 03/1, 076 8; 1(diš) e2šu-luh-ha zabar BE 03/1, 078 4. ELA/Ur III/Umma gur zabar-ta AAS 096 7'; gur# zabar-ta AAS 096 12'; 6(diš) ur5-dim zabar# AAS 140 o i 8. ELA/Ur III/Ur e2 eš3 e2 zabar-še3UET 3, 0103 4; e2 eš3 e2 zabar-še3 UET 3, 0106 2; nig2-dab5 balag zabar# UET 3, 0282 15. ELA/Ur III/unclear 8(geš2) 5(u) 5(diš) kak zu2 zabar AUCT 1, 321 1; 3(geš2) 1(u)7(diš) kak zu2 zabar ku5 2(diš)-ta AUCT 1, 321 2; 3(u) 3(diš) kak zu2 zabar tur AUCT 1, 321 3. ELA/Ur III/unknown 3(diš) za3-mi-ri2-tum zabar geš-a du3-a YOS 15, 181 1.ELA/Early Old Babylonian/unknown zabar-bi ba-ra-keš2 BIN 09, 027 6; 2(diš) pisan gal zabar sag? BIN 09, 183 3; 1(diš) geše2 zabar BIN 10, 150 6. ELA/Old Babylonian/Nippurbalag# li-li-eš3 [zabar] OB Contracts, pl. A6 no. 5 10'. ELA/Old Babylonian/Umma 1(diš) 2/3(diš) ma-na zabar AUCT 3, 412 1; sag zabar-a-bi šu-a gi4-gi4-dam AUCT 3, 412 4.unknown/ED IIIb/Girsu 1(aš@c) zabar3 dili2 ma2-dilmun DP 051 o ii 4; 1(aš@c) zabar3 dili2 ma2-dilmun DP 069 o i 1; 1(aš@c) zabar3 dili2 ma2-dilmun DP 069 o ii 6. unknown/ED IIIb/Nippur 1(aš@c) URIurudu zabar OSP 1, 095 4; 8(aš@c) ha-[zi] zabar urudu OSP 1, 098 1; zabar mah-zu mu#-URU!? ASJ 16, p. 43-46 prism v 14. unknown/ED IIIb/unclear5(aš@c) zabar MC 4, 07 o i 4. unknown/ED IIIb/unknown 1(aš@c) ha-zi zabar3 ITT 5, 09249 o i 1. unknown/Old Akkadian/Adab 1(aš@c) ma-ša-lum zabar OIP 014, 100 1; 1(aš@c)šu-nig2 zabar OIP 014, 103 1; 1(aš@c) kun-gag zabar OIP 014, 103 2. unknown/Old Akkadian/Girsu 1(aš) zabar šu MVN 10, 137 1. unknown/Old Akkadian/unknown [...] zabar# PBS 09, 072 2; 1(aš@c) pa2-tar2 zabar PBS 09, 132 3; sa10 zabar-kam STTI 054 4; sa10 zabar-kam STTI 054 2; 1/2(aš@c) ma-na 6(aš@c) gin2 zabar STTI 054 2; 1(aš@c) pisan turzabar gu2-ne-sag gal2-a ITT 2, 04690 o ii 5. unknown/Ur III/Drehem 1(diš) zabarma2-gur8 zabar MVN 15, 226 1; 1(diš) šu-ša-gar zabar MVN 20, 031 1; 1(diš) kun-du3 zabarMVN 20, 031 2. unknown/Ur III/Girsu 1(diš) 2/3(diš) ma-na 2/3(diš) gin2 zabar ASJ 18, 166 8 r ii 13; 1(u) 2(diš) 1/3(diš) ma-na 5(diš) gin2 zabar ASJ 18, 167 9 o ii 10; 1(u) 2(diš)2/3(diš) ma-na 5(diš) gin2 zabar ASJ 18, 167 9 o i 8. unknown/Ur III/Nippur 8(diš) gin2 zabar BBVO 11, 268, 5N-T500 1; 1(diš) ga-uh3 gal zabar# BBVO 11, 298, 6N-T717 5.unknown/Ur III/Umma 1(diš) kuš sa zabar LÕuomo 55 o i 19; ba-ri2-ga zabar MVN 16, 0669 3; 1(diš) a2-aš-gar zabar MVN 16, 1142 1. unknown/Ur III/Ur 1(diš) šu ša nig2 zabarSAT 2, 0039 1'; 1(diš) kun-kak zabar SAT 2, 0039 2'; 4(diš) gešdur2 zabar sumun SAT 2, 0039 4'; 1(diš) gir2-ur2-ra zabar sumun SAT 2, 0039 5'. unknown/Ur III/unclear [x] ma-di-tum zabar# ba x x x x MVN 18, 618 5. unknown/Old Babylonian/unknown 1(diš) gišgu-za ser3#-[da] zabar gar-ra TLB 5, 08 1.
~ hi[mix]LEX/Old Babylonian/Nippur zabar hi-a OB Nippur Ura 2 539. ELA/Ur III/Girsu ŠU+LAGAB 4(diš) gal za-hum zabar hi-a HSS 04, 005 r ii 2; 1(u) 5(diš) gal za-hum zabar hi-aMVN 17, 007 14; 6(diš) ha-zi zabar hi-a MVN 17, 007 18; [x] za-hum zabar hi-a OTR 244 16; 6(diš) ha-zi-in zabar hi-a TUT 126 o i 17; [x] la2 1(diš) gal za-hum zabar hi-a UDT 001 11. unknown/Old Akkadian/Adab ŠU+LAGAB 3(u) 2(aš@c) zabar hi-a OIP 014, 103 4. unknown/Ur III/Girsu 3(diš) gal za-hum zabar hi-a ASJ 18, 167 9 r i 5; 3(diš) gal za-humzabar hi-a ASJ 18, 167 9 r i 16.
2. arrowhead
3. weapon
4. metal mirror
5. (to be) shiny
6. measuring vessel made of bronze
7. a metal bowl
8. bronze
Akk. ebbu "bright; pure; clean"; hutpu "bronze arrowhead"; kakku "stick; weapon"; mušālu "metal mirror"; namru "bright, shining"; qû "a capacity measure, as measuring vessel"; sappu "a bowl; a lance"; siparru "bronze".
[1992] P. Steinkeller and J.N. Postgate, LAT 48.
http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd/e6375.html